H-1B Visa Shakeup Leaves Thousands of Young Indians’ American Dream in Jeopardy
New Delhi, India — Meghna Gupta* had meticulously charted her life. By 23, she would complete her master’s degree, gain a few years of professional experience in India, and then move to the United States before turning 30. Her ultimate goal was to settle there permanently.
Gupta, 29, spent long hours at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Hyderabad, India’s largest IT firm, anticipating a promotion that would bring her to California. Now, her plans lie in disarray following the Trump administration’s drastic overhaul of the H-1B visa program, a pathway that skilled Indian professionals have relied on for decades.
The administration’s decision to increase the visa fee from roughly $2,000 to $100,000 has imposed massive new costs on companies that sponsor these visas. While the base salary for an H-1B employee is typically $60,000, the employer’s total cost now exceeds $160,000. For many firms, hiring equally qualified American workers has become a more economical option.
The policy, part of a broader anti-immigration agenda, aims to encourage US companies to hire local talent. Yet for thousands of young Indians aspiring to work in the US, it represents a devastating setback. India, despite its fast-growing economy, has long experienced an outflow of skilled professionals to developed nations.
For decades, Indian IT companies dominated H-1B sponsorships. In 2014, seven of the ten top H-1B recipients were Indian firms; by 2024, that number dropped to four. During the first half of 2025, TCS was the only Indian company among the top ten recipients, a list otherwise dominated by tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple.
Even so, Indian nationals continued to represent the majority of H-1B recipients. In 2024, over 70 percent of visas were awarded to Indians, with Chinese nationals a distant second at less than 12 percent. Now, many fear this gateway to the US is closing.
“It has left me heartbroken,” Gupta told Al Jazeera. “All my life, I planned for this; everything revolved around moving to the US. The so-called ‘American Dream’ feels like a cruel joke now.”
India’s Contradictions and Talent Exodus
Gupta’s experience reflects a wider paradox. India boasts the world’s fourth-largest GDP, overtaking Japan this year, and is often touted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the fastest-growing major economy. Yet, its job creation lags behind the influx of young professionals entering the workforce, leaving many to seek opportunities abroad.
Millions of Indian students and young professionals aspire to careers in engineering, medicine, and technology, hoping to migrate to countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of skilled Indians moving abroad soared from 94,145 to 348,629—a 270 percent increase.
Trump’s visa fee hike threatens to close the US doors to this talent, following months of rising tensions between the US and India, including a 50 percent US tariff on certain Indian exports.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative in Delhi, explained that sectors most affected will include mid-level IT services, software development, project management, and back-end finance and healthcare roles. “The $100,000 fee exceeds many entry-level salaries, making sponsorship uneconomical, particularly for smaller companies and startups,” he said.
The shift will likely push American firms to focus on domestic talent and reserve H-1B visas for highly specialized roles, while outsourcing routine work to India or other hubs. Indian STEM graduates may now have to reconsider US career plans entirely.
Impact on Students and Tech Professionals
Sudhanshu Kaushik, founder of the North American Association of Indian Students, said the new policy aims to “create panic and distress among H-1B holders and other immigrant visa holders.” Many international students, including thousands from India—the largest source of foreign students in the US—have invested tens of thousands of dollars in tuition with uncertain job prospects.
“Students feel they’re already in the hole,” Kaushik said, referring to tuition and living costs. “Now, their future in the US is uncertain.”
Nasscom, India’s IT trade body, warned that the abrupt policy could disrupt families and ongoing projects, while also affecting the US innovation ecosystem and global job markets.
Voices from Silicon Valley
Ansh*, a senior engineer at Meta, lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife, both on H-1B visas. The announcement left him scrambling to help friends abroad return to the US before the new rules took effect.
Although the administration later clarified that the fee hike wouldn’t affect existing visas or renewals, the uncertainty has caused widespread concern. “This kind of instability forces people to reconsider life-changing decisions,” he said. “For those with families, the stakes are even higher.”
Ansh also warned of the long-term consequences for the US itself. “Immigrants are embedded in the DNA of US innovation. Once this talent leaves, innovation slows, affecting everyone.”
India’s Opportunity and Challenges Ahead
Prime Minister Modi’s office encouraged Indians abroad to consider returning home, seeing the policy as a chance to reduce brain drain. “US companies may double down on offshore work, reserving onsite postings for mission-critical roles,” Srivastava said.
Yet, returning to India isn’t simple. While IT hiring continues to grow, salaries and opportunities for innovation remain uneven. Many H-1B aspirants are now exploring alternatives like Canada, Australia, or Europe rather than India.
“The Indian ecosystem is still focused on delivering services, not pioneering the next global innovation,” Ansh explained. “The US remains the frontier for cutting-edge technology, and shifting that dynamic will take time.”